SharePoint+Team+Sites

=** SharePoint //for Knowledge Creation & Decision Making// **=

SharePoint Team Sites enable **asynchronous online collaboration** among a team of contributors. Team sites are web sites designed specifically for collaboration. Sites enable:
 * Document collaboration and shared file storage
 * Task management and tracking
 * Approval and decision-making workflow
 * Personalized or customized views
 * Dashboard representations of business intelligence

SharePoint replaces older methods of asynchronous group collaboration. SharePoint takes away the need to send a multitude of emails back and forth, keep track of multiple versions of the same document, independently monitor tasks, manually initiate workflow, query backend systems for information, and much more.


 * = **Click to launch the following SharePoint resources:** ||
 * = [[image:Picture_13.png width="184" height="162" align="center" link="@http://www.wssdemo.com/default.aspx"]] ||= [[image:Picture_15.png width="246" height="149" align="center" link="@http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxpTk973VAY&feature=related"]] ||= [[image:Picture_16.png width="260" height="153" align="center" link="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s12Jb5Z2xaE&feature=related"]] ||
 * = Demo SharePoint Site ||= Video: Introduction to SharePoint Sites ||= Video: SharePoint in Plain English ||

= = = How does it work? = Once SharePoint is implemented within an organization, project teams and departments are able to quickly create new sites with built-in tools to enhance collaboration. This also helps ensure that internal groups are collaborating with standardized tools and unified infrastructure (Microsoft, 2010, p.7), promoting collaboration across groups and projects as well. **//But how do team sites support knowledge creation and decision making?//**

__**... Supporting Knowledge Creation **__ SharePoint promotes knowledge creation by providing an easy-to-use platform for publishing content, sharing and authoring documents, and managing tasks. Collaboration group users can easily contribute information and create a group workspace by adding text and files to the site through a WYSIWYG editor. [|Documents], stored in libraries, can be shared among or across groups with versioning and governance built-in. Any or all authorized users can then modify and add to shared documents, enabling [|collaboration and co-authoring]. SharePoint also enables users to create a [|Wiki] within their team site and create knowledge in that format. SharePoint supports users in being responsible for their individual tasks and contributions by the group through [|work tasks] which can be assigned to individuals, tracked, and reported on. Finally, the 2010 My Site functionality promotes sharing of organizational expertise, or tacit knowledge, by allowing users to create profiles and search those of their colleagues (Microsoft, p. 7).


 * = ====**Advantages (Benefits)**==== ||= ====**Disadvantages (Barriers/Restrictions)**==== ||
 * * Users can add text, files, graphics, videos, feedback to site easily without knowledge of html or web design – use same interface as applications they are familiar with (Microsoft)
 * Users can collaborate or co-author documents and have record of past versions for review
 * Can collaborate via multiple forms: wiki, documents, site content, etc.
 * Site can help keep individuals on track with collaboration tasks and provide record of progress
 * Site content serves as a visual document/record of knowledge creation process
 * Collaborators have a shared workspace where they can visually build upon one another’s ideas
 * Can engage all collaborators in the same space, where they can contribute on their own time
 * Contributors have time for personal reflection || * Disconnected sense of collaborators
 * Engagement of collaborators is hard to control when not face-to-face
 * Potential lack of accountability for collaborators because they are not face-to-face
 * Process may take longer as people contribute on their own time
 * Feedback to one another’s contributions may not be immediate
 * Use of site restricted by corporate governance and network, site administrators – may impact interaction
 * A SharePoint site is simply a platform, and is therefore only as effective as the people who use the site (Wallbridge & Brimacombe, 2009, p. 8) ||



__**... Supporting Decision Making **__
SharePoint boasts an ability to support organizations to “make quicker more informed decisions” (Microsoft, p. 5) by automating decision workflow, creating customized views for published content, and seamlessly linking with back-end systems to present pertinent business intelligence. Users can program [|workflows and processes]directly into a team site and receive notifications throughout the cycle. This is often useful for document review, management of change, and approval processes.

As well, site administrators can ensure the right information is displayed to the right people by customizing views of published content based on the individual. Confidential information can be displayed to the decision-maker alone, in exactly the way they need to view it to make an informed decision. Even more, SharePoint is able to draw pertinent business intelligence from back-end ERP or reporting systems and display it within the team site itself (Microsoft, p. 9). Effectively, SharePoint supports the creation of a portal for decision makers.


 * = ====**Advantages (Benefits)**==== ||= ====**Disadvantages (Barriers/Restrictions)**==== ||
 * * Decision-making processes can be automated
 * Workflow records the decision making process for review
 * Right information presented to the right people
 * Business intelligence drawn from back-end systems to one portal/dashboard decision-making location
 * All decision-makers can be engaged in the same space, shared workspace to build upon ideas
 * Asynchronous interaction allows time for personal reflection
 * Audience targeting avoids information overload (Microsoft, p. 5) || * Asynchronous process may take longer as people contribute on their own time, may respond to decision maker requests slower
 * May have lack of accountability at times because collaborators and decision-makers are not face-to-face
 * Feedback is not immediate if collaborators on different schedules
 * Use of site restricted by corporate governance and network, site administrators – may impact interaction ||

= = = Learning Theory Alignment = Two related learning theories are relevant when considering group collaboration and learning in SharePoint: Situated Learning theory and Functional Context theory.


 * //Situated Learning Theory: //** Jean Lave argued that learning is situated, embedded within activity, context and culture (Learning Theories Knowledgebase, 2011). A SharePoint team site is effectively a community of practice, wherein like-minded individuals of the same or similar professional-background are engaged in collaboration, problem-solving, and decision-making. Knowledge creation and learning within this context is a social process embedded within an asynchronous online social environment.


 * //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Functional Context Theory: //**<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> Similar to Situated Learning theory, Functional Context theory stresses the importance of context during learning but at the same time making this learning relevant to the experience of learners and their work context. Additionally, this type of learning should use materials the learner will use after the learning experience (Culotta, 2011). SharePoint enables users to actually socially develop the material that they can use after the initial learning experience, decision making, knowledge creation. The SharePoint site serves as a living record of this learning process. More specifically, the process of collaborating on the site is necessarily relevant to the learner’s experience and work context as it is directed at accomplishing a work task or initiative.

= Approaches = == <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">In her research, Murphy describes the process of asynchronous online collaboration where “group members develop social presence, articulate, accommodate and [then] co-construct new perspectives and meanings” (2004, pg. 423). Murphy notes that is it at the stage where collaborators share a common goal that a sense of common purpose emerges (pg. 423).
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Knowledge Creation in an asynchronous //**<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> //**online environment**// involves: enabling collaborators to freely contribute content and ideas, creating a shared workspace where collaborators can build upon one another’s ideas, encouraging engagement and productivity among collaborators, and connecting collaborators with one another.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">SharePoint team sites promote asynchronous online collaboration and knowledge creation in alignment with Murphy’s research. SharePoint facilitates the development of a social presence through user profiles called My Sites. Murphy argues that “social presence creates group cohesion, which enriches interaction” (pg. 422).

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">SharePoint’s open publishing features and document sharing capabilities enables the co-construction of knowledge, enabling the process Murphy describes “as participants articulate and externalize their perspectives… this process of questioning, evaluating, and criticizing perspectives, beliefs, and assumptions allows participants to restructure their thinking” (pg. 423).

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">A SharePoint site also, in essence, creates a record of the collaboration and an artifact for use down the road – whether it’s the site itself, a co-authored document, or a Wiki. Murphy also notes this element of successful collaboration, arguing that “collaboration ultimately is realized at the stage when the shared artifact results” (pg. 423).


 * //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Decision-Making in an asynchronous //**<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> //**online environment**// is an interesting concept that has not been the object of research to the extent that knowledge creation and collaboration has. In his article, Liu laments “an exhaustive literature search failed to locate any study that purposefully investigate group decision making in the context of distributed collaborative learning” (2010, pg. 280).

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">A frequent issue in organizations is that business intelligence tools are disconnected from how people actually work; and in response SharePoint provides personalized report centers, spreadsheets, dashboards, personalized report delivery, integrating the visibility of this information into the site. Within SharePoint thanks to workflow, audience targeting, and business intelligence integration; a team leader or executive can easily review these key figures, and draw on the social collaboration of other users, to make an informed decision. He is, in effect, able to leverage both social networking and business intelligence in his decision-making process. Hence, SharePoint does a great job of supporting an individual’s decision-making process; but perhaps it falls short of supporting group decision-making.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">In discussing this issue, Liu alludes that most group decision-making processes involve a synchronous component, frequently noting failures in the decision process when it had to be even in part asynchronous (pg. 281). At this point, SharePoint does not support any kind of synchronous interaction and perhaps this is the next step toward better supporting group interaction and group decision-making. Possibilities that come to mind include: instant messaging among signed-in users or a synchronous meeting platform integrated such as WebEx or Elluminate.

= Linkages = <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">SharePoint currently supports integration with the majority of the Microsoft Office 2010 suite, “empowering users to work with the tools they use most” (Microsoft, pg. 14). For example, Microsoft Word documents can be stored, reviewed, checked-out, edited, and versioned from within SharePoint. Workflows can be designed in SharePoint and published to Visio. Events can be published in a SharePoint calendar and generate events in an Outlook calendar. The list goes on.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Wiki functionality has been integrated within SharePoint as well. More information on Wiki’s can be found here. As well, SharePoint can seamlessly link with back-end ERP systems and display information within the site itself. This data is also read/write accessible.

= Future Use = <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">As for future use, I identified in the previous section that I think SharePoint will need to integrate a platform for synchronous collaboration at some point. Based on user preferences, group dynamics, or the characteristic of the task at hand; synchronous collaboration is sometimes required. If SharePoint is to serve as a portal for group collaboration, I think this is the next step.

= =

Videos
GetStartedSharePoint. (2009, August 29). SharePoint in Plain English [Video file]. Retrieved from []

lyndapodcast. (2010, June 29). What is a team site? SharePoint 2010 Essentials Training [Video file]. Retrieved from []

Images
SharePoint Platform Services [Image]. (2010). Retrieved October 10, 2011, from: [|www.syrinx.com]

SharePoint Dashboard [Image]. (2010). Retrieved October 10, 2011, from: [|http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint-server-help/video-whats-new-in-performancepoint-dashboards-VA101828511.aspx]

SharePoint Workflow [Image]. (2010). Retrieved October 10, 2011, from: []

Murphy, E. (2004). //Collaboration model// [Image]. Pg. 424. Recognising and promoting collaboration in an online asynchronous discussion. //British Journal of Educational Technology, 35 #4,// 421-431